Telangana’s Dhavalika wins bronze as India shines in junior shooting events
India finished on top at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship in Delhi with 94 medals, including 51 gold. Amanpreet, Suraj, Sift and Dhavalika Devi starred as Indian shooters swept podiums and dominated team events across categories
Hyderabad: India topped the medal standings in commanding fashion, securing a total of 94 medals, including 51 gold, 23 silver and 20 bronze, as the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship concluded at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in Delhi on Friday.
The hosts added six gold, three silver and four bronze on the final day of competitions to firmly establish their position in the continent.
On the final day, Indian shooters swept the podium in the 25m Center Fire Pistol and 25m Pistol Junior events, while also adding three medals in the 50m Rifle Prone Women Senior and Junior events. They further claimed four gold medals in the team events to end the championship on a high.
In the 25m Center Fire Pistol, Amanpreet Singh clinched gold with a score of 589-24x over Precision and Rapid stage. Olympian Gurpreet Singh won silver with 584-20x, while Ankur Goel took bronze with 570-11x. The trio also combined to win the team gold.
Suraj Sharma continued his fine run by winning gold in the 25m Pistol Junior event with 585-25x. Mukesh Nelavalli secured silver with 582-21x, while Deaflympics medallist Abhinav Deshwal won bronze with 573-17x. The trio also won the team gold.
In the 50m Rifle Prone event, Olympian Sift Kaur Samra won silver with 623.2, while 2010 World Champion Tejaswini Sawant claimed bronze, five years after her last international medal. Yelizaveta Bezrukova of Kazakhstan won gold. Sift and Tejaswini, along with Manini Kaushik, combined to win team gold for India.
In the junior category, Dhavalika Devi Nyamurus of Telangana, a trainee of Gun For Glory Academy under Olympic medallist Gagan Narang at Gachibowli and coached by Vinod Kmaojiya, secured bronze with 614.1. Kazakh shooters Tomiris Amanova and Darya Ponomarenko won gold and silver respectively. The trio of Prachi Gaikwad, Anuskha Thokur and Devi combined to win the team gold.
